You might call me weird, but I’ve always liked Western cookies more than traditional Chinese ones, even though I was born in China and lived there for 30 years before moving to the US. In a previous post, I talked about why I didn’t like the traditional sandy almond cookies, so I made alterations to create a more buttery almond cookie. Thumbprint cookies are my eternal love. When I was a kid, it was a once-a-year treat that I could only get during Chinese New Year. Now that I live in New York, I can go to the bodega around the corner, any time of the day, to get my fix. You can spot me in my pajamas running downstairs in the middle of the night for a cookie run, way too often than I should be. And you’ll see me navigating through hundreds of products swiftly and directly, reaching for the Pepperidge Farm Apricot Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies. After doing this “routine” practically every two weeks, for about a year, I thought maybe it was time to find out how to make them at home to save on cost.
Why this recipe
Thumbprint cookies are one of those super easy things that you can make with your kids (or friends). It’s such a delight to work with the buttery dough and bright jam. And it’s a lot of fun to work on the cookies using your fingers. At a glance, it might seem counterintuitive to make your own jam for such a simple recipe. But once I had tried it, I loved the result so much that I would never use store-bought jam for this recipe again. I infused star anise into the jam to create a round and warm taste that works perfectly with the cookie dough. Not only does the jam have a more interesting flavor, but it also has a thicker and stickier texture that store-bought jam lacks. I also found that it’s best to add the jam after baking the cookies. I’ve tried both ways. When I baked the cookies with the jam already filled in, the jam seeped into the dough and the color lost its luster.
Cooking process
Making strawberry thumbprint cookies is a two-part process.
(1) Make the star anise infused jam
This recipe yields more jam than needed for the cookies. I use the leftover jam to make buttered jam toast.
(2) Make the dough
(3) Shape cookies
One heaping teaspoon of dough might seem like a very small amount when you make the cookies, but it produces the best mouthfeel and jam-to-cookie ratio once cooked. I’ve tried making slightly bigger cookies. I felt like the jam ratio was off in that case and it felt like there was too much cookie dough.
(4) Final assembly and storage
Once the baked cookies are cooled, add the jam into the center and they’re ready to serve. To store the filled cookies, I prefer to use a large ziplock bag and spread the cookies into a single layer without overlapping. This way the jam won’t get smooshed onto the other cookies. These cookies are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth soft, and spiced up with the star anise jam. Dust them with powdered sugar and you’ll immediately feel the Christmas spirit in your home.
More holiday baking recipes
Chinese almond Cookies Easy Milk Bread Rolls Soft Cinnamon Rolls with Sesame Sesame Checkerboard Cookies Kabocha Pumpkin Pie (a Lighter and Fluffier Pie)
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
